The Week India - July 29, 2018

90 THE WEEK^ • JULY 29, 2018

FOOD

@LEISURE

IN MUMBAI’S tony Juhu neighbour-

hood, frantic renovation activity is

under way where the once famous

Horizon hotel stood. On closer

inspection, you notice the names

of some of Mumbai’s fi nest restau-

rants on banners, announcing their

imminent arrival. Call it an upscale

food court, if you will. Amid all this,

Th e Kettlery, a premium tea lifestyle

brand, has opened its fi rst master

franchisee store.

Th e brainchild of Sandeep Ko-

techa and Praneta Mehta, his wife,

the store in Mumbai will be run by

Apoorva Kamdar. Kotecha has been

in the tea industry for almost a dec-

ade, and has operated stores in the

US, Canada, Mexico and the Middle

East. He saw merit in the “power of

localising tea”, and felt that if people

were off ered fl avour options, it would

change their perception of tea.

Th e Kettlery is about experiencing

PHOTOS: JANAK BHAT

fi ne gourmet tea, served with all the

elaborate frills of a fancy tea ser-

vice. And, the teas are coupled with

celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani’s food ex-

pertise. Th e focus is as much on food

as it is on tea. “We created this model

with Vicky’s expertise in food and our

expertise in tea,” says Kotecha. “We

want to do tea in a very unique way,

while pairing it with an all-veg cui-

sine, so that it would also go well with

our wellness message.” Partner and

culinary consultant, Vicky Ratnani,

adds, “We also want to give a ‘Vicky’

take to the food, which is imaginative,

modern, and yet very humble.”

Keeping in mind people’s “peculiar

choices”, Th e Kettlery off ers a balance

of products that will appeal not just

to tea connoisseurs, but also to the

working population and millennials.

Kotecha understands the challenges,

especially in a tea-drinking nation

such as ours. “Th ere is something

for everyone... fruity, spicy, straight

teas, fruit blends, even mocktails and

iced teas,” he says. Th e menu off ers a

wide variety from morning teas and

breakfast blends to afternoon teas

and an entire section dedicated to the

connoisseurs, consisting of fi ne, sin-

gle-origin and fi rst-fl ush teas. “Even

if you look at our masala chai, it is not

your regular masala chai,” says Kote-

cha. “It is artisanal and hand-picked

with well-curated spices.” However,

Kotecha knows that customers may

fi nd the options overwhelming.

“Customers lose interest after eight to

ten fl avours. So, while the training for

the staff has been pretty intense, all

eff orts are in the direction of trying to

understand the guests’ palate. After

TRUE TO TEA

Sandeep Kotecha (left) and

Apoorva Kamdar; (right) Praneta Mehta

and Vicky Ratnani